Midsole for platform shoes



Sepia 1947- E. A; CREPEAU MI DSOLE FOR PLATFORM SHOES Original Filed 001.. l, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l- Sept. 2, 1947. E, CREREAU 2,426,671

MIDSOLE FOR PLATFORM SHOES 2 sheets sheet 2 Original Filed Oct. 1, 1942 Invenior Ernesfi fLCrefieau Patented Sept. 2, 1947 2,426,671 MIDSOLE FOR PLATFORM SHOES Ernest A. Crepeau,

Original application Octo Divided and this application March 1 Claim. (Cl. 3,630)

460,384. 23, 1945, Serial This invention relates to shoe soles and is herein illustrated as embodied in a midsole of a platform shoe. A method of and a machine for making such an insole are disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,397,245, granted March 26, 1946, upon an application which was filed in my name and of which the present application is a division.

Midsoles, or platform soles, used to a large extent in play shoes and slippers, may consist of a resilient pad of uniform thickness from heel to toe or of a pad which is thicker at the heel portion than at the toe portion. The peripheral portions of these pads are usually covered with strips of leather or cloth to hide the raw edge faces and provide a finished, decorative appearance. The binding material comes in strip form and is wide enough to overlap the top and bottom faces of the pad and to be secured to these faces by stitching, stapling or adhesion. A single strip may be applied to the entire peripheral edge or there may be apiece surrounding the heel end of the pad and another piece surrounding the toe end.

.It has hitherto been customary to attach the binding strip to the peripheral edge face and to the marginal surface portions adjacent thereto with the entire width of the binding strip adhesively secured to the pad. Even when the binding strip was finally secured by stitching or stapling which extended through the marginal portion of the pad from top to bottom the binding strip was, nevertheless, adhesively secured over its entire width. When the pad, which is composed of resilient material, is compressed under the heavy pressure of the sole pressing machine, the binding strip, which has been adhesively attached to the peripheral edge of the pad, is caused to wrinkle. Even when the pressure is released and the pad expands to its original thickness the binding nevertheless remains wrinkled because of the fact that the adhesivecoated surfaces of the binding strip and the pad do not move freely with respect to one another. The same effect appears to a less extent when the sole is subjected to the intermittent compression of daily use.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved midsole having its edge faces covered by a binding strip which is taut and unwrinkled. In accordance with a feature of the invention, the binding strip is adhesively secured to the marginal portions of the top and bottom faces only of the midsole. The binding strip is not attached to the edge face of the midsole and is tightly stretched over the edge face. The mid- Haverhill, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J a corporation of New Jersey her 1, 1942, Serial No.

sole may be composed of resilient material and the binding strip may be applied while the marginal portions of the midsole are under compression so that when the pressure is released the binding strip will be stretched across the edge face of the midsole. The binding strip may be applied in such a manner as to cause the stretch lengthwise to be less than the stretch widthwise.

These and other features of the invention, including certain details of construction and combinations of parts, will be described in connection with an illustrative midsole and pointed out in the appended claim.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 shows the general shape of a piece of precoated binding strip adapted to be applied to the heel portion of a midsole pad;

Fig. 2 shows a piece of precoated binding strip adapted to be applied to the toe portion of the p Fig. 3 shows a strip adapted to of the pad;

Fig. 4 shows the pieces of binding strip illustrated in Figs. land 2 joined by adhesive to provide a single piece adapted to be applied to the entire periphery of the pad;

Fig. 5 discloses a wedge-shaped resilient midsole pad having adhesive applied to its top and bottom marginal portions;

Fig. 6 shows the application of the binding strip to the heel portion of the pad with the marginal portions of the binding strip extending beyond the top and bottom faces of the pad;

Fig. 7 shows the partial bending or breaking down of the projecting marginal portions of the binding and the compressing of the margin of the midsole;

single piece of precoated binding be applied to the entire periphery Fig. 8 shows the projecting marginal portions of the binding wiped inwardly and pressed into engagement with the pad while the margin of the midsole is being further compressed;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged section of a marginal portion of the pad showing the adhesive extending to the corners of the pad and the binding strip adhering to the corners; and

Fig. 10 is an enlarged section showing the partial breaking down and adherence of the binding strip to the top and bottom faces of the pad close to the corners.

The midsole illustrated herein comprises a midsole pad or platform having a binding strip extending around its peripheral edge and overlapping the marginal portions of its top and bottom faces. Fig. 1 shows a piece of binding strip the heel end of a (1 adapted to be applied to I 2,426,671 3 V midsole pad b, as shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8. Fig. 2 overlapped by the binding strip a which is fed shows a piece of binding strip a adapted to be between a belt 38 and the roll 26. The belt 38 applied to the toe portion of the midsole b. When is supported and guided by a roll. The result the binding material can be obtained in sufiicient of this operation, as shown in Fig. 9, is to cause length, a single strip a", as shown in Fig. 3, may the binding strip a to adhere only to the corners be used to cover the entire periphery of the pad I). of the edge face of the pad I) because the omis- However, when the binding material consists of sion of adhesive upon the edge face of the pad leather, the difficulty of obtaining material of A will prevent the binding strip from adhering even sufilcient length has led to the practice of ernthough the whole face of the binding strip itself ploying separate pieces such as a and it instead 10 be coated with adhesive. The midsole is next of a single piece a". The pieces a and a may, presented, as shown in Fig. 7, to that portion of if desired, be adhesively joined by a lap joint (Fig. the machine comprising a grooved disk 80, which 4) to enable them to be applied as a single strip. 7 breaks down and partially folds over the pro- In preparing the binding strip, advantage jecting marginal portions of the binding strip,

should be taken of the fact that leather and cloth thereby stretching the binding strip tautly over have greater stretch in one direction than in the the peripheral edge face and subjecting the midother, and the binding strip should be prepared sole to such pressure as to compress it to some in such a manner that the stretch per inch extent and also to cause the binding strip to widthwise of the strip is less than the stretch per adhere to the marginal portions of the top and inch lengthwise in order to minimize the amount bottom faces close to the corners of the midsole of stretch between the top and bottom faces of pad, as shown in Fig. 10. The midsole is finally, the midsole. In leather the stretch is greater as shown in Fig. 8, presented to that portion of along lines substantially at right angles to the the machine which comprises disks 88. The backbone of the hide, that is, from side-to side, upper disk 88 is spring pressed downwardly t0- and consequently if the strips are so cut that ward the lower disk with a pressure sufiicient to their longer dimensions are at right angles to the cause further compression in the marginal porbackbone of the hide, a minimum of stretch will tion of the midsole pad. As the midsole is fed be presented widthwise of the strip. In cloth by the operator between the disks 88, the bindor textile material the stretch is greatest weftwise ing strip is progressively wiped and pressed into and consequently if the strips are so cut that engagement with the marginal portion of the their long dimensions extend weftwise, the minimidsole and adhesively secured thereto while the mum stretch willbe widthwise of the strips. midsole is under compression. It is to be ob- The minimum stretch of the binding strip; served that the rotation of the disks is such that being widthwise, will enable the strip to resist as the midsole is drawn between them there is the tendency of the compressed'marginal portion a component of force exerted on the edge por-,

of the midsole to expand, while the maximum tions of the work which tends to wipe the marstretch, being lengthwise, will enable the marginal portions of the binding inwardly and anginal portions of the strip to lie fiat upon the other component which acts longitudinally of upper and lower faces of the midsole at the curved the midsole and in the same direction as the portions thereof. 40 midsole is moving to iron the pressed-down mar- The binding strip has its inner surface coated ginal portions. The component of force exerted with adhesive to enable that surface to be applied in the direction of movement of the midsole tends to the midsole pad. While the entire inner surto shorten the inner edges of the marginal porface of the binding strip is covered with adhesive, tions of the binding strip and thus to draw the the nature of the adhesive is such that it will binding strip close about'the curved portion of adhere only to a surface treated with a like coatthe midsole and to eliminate wrinkling of the ing of adhesive. g overlapping portion of the binding. g The midsole'pad or platform b to which the Having described myinvention, whatI claim as binding is to be applied is composed of a resilient new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of material such as felted fibers or a combination the United States is: of fibers and cork. It may be of uniform thick- An article of manufacture comprising a' midness from heel to toe or it may have a raised porsole having a binding strip extending around its tion 0 (Fig. 5) at the heel end which in many peripheral edge and overlapping the marginal types of shoe tapers gradually to merge with the portions of its top and bottom faces and being thin forepart. In preparing the midsole for the adhesively attached only to the marginal Iporattachment of the binding strip, adhesive is aptions of the top and bottom faces in a manner to plied to the marginal portions of the top and bothold said peripheral edge under compression, tom faces of the midsole. The adhesive is carsaid binding strip being unattached to said peried all the way to the corners of the midsole but ripheral edge and being composed of a material is not applied to the edge faces. It is to be obwhich is inherently more stretchable lengthwise served that the word corners as employed hereof the strip than widthwise. in means the lines of intersection between the V peripheral edge face and the top and bottom ERNEST A. CREPEAU. faces of the midsole pad.

The binding strip may, if desired, be applied to REFERENCES CITED the mldsole Pad by the use of the machme (115 The following references are of record in the closed'in Letters Patent No. 2,397,245 above menme of this patent: v

UNITED STATES PATENTS roll 26 (Fig. 6) freely rotatable about a spindle Number Name Date 28, the operator holding the midsole pad 12 with 2,321,? 13 Turner June 15, 1943 its lower face supported by a surface 35 in such 2,078,346 Schleich Apr. 27, 1937 a way as to cause the edge face of the pad to be 2,175,050 Bessett Oct. 3, 1939 

